The demise of the Green Bay Packers has been greatly exaggerated. After a loss at home to the San Francisco 49ers in the first week of the NFL season, many thought the Packers would lose again to the Bears, who won their first game easily, 41-21 over the Indianapolis Colts. Starting the season with two conference losses at home, including a loss in the division would be something all teams would like to avoid, and the Packers did.
The Packers defense really showed up on Thursday night at Lambeau Field. They pressured Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler into 4 interceptions, and sacked him 7 times. His chief tormentor was Packers’ outside linebacker Clay Matthews, who had 3 1/2 sacks himself. That gives Matthews 6 sacks in 2 games. The same amount he had all of last season. My favorite sack was when he launched himself at Cutler, was on his shoulders, and then threw him backwards, and slammed him to the turf.
While the Packer defense looked much better, the offense still isn’t hitting on all cylinders. They did rush for 106 yards, which is a big improvement, but the passing game isn’t quite right. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked 5 times, and there were a few dropped passes, reminding me of the playoff loss last year to the New York Giants last year.
Green Bay was leading 3-0 late in the second quarter, and was lining up for another field goal attempt, when the play of the game occurred. The ball was hiked to the holder, Tim Masthay, who is also their punter. Then he flipped the ball forward to backup tight end Tom Crabtree, who lined up on the left side of the line, and moved to his right as the ball was hiked. The offensive line blew open a huge hole, and Crabtree went 27 yards for the first touchdown of the game untouched.
If the Packers continue to play defense like they did in this game, then they will be very formidable the rest of the season. You know their passing game will improve with all that talent, and wide receiver Greg Jennings returning from injury. The Pack is back, although they never were really gone.
